May 25
Events *1085 - Alfonso VI of Castile takes Toledo back from the Moors. *1420 - Henry the Navigator is appointed governor of the Order of Christ. *1521 - The Diet of Worms ends when Charles V, issues the Edict of Worms, declaring Martin Luther an outlaw. *1659 - Richard Cromwell resigns as Lord Protector of England following the restoration of the Long Parliament, beginning a second brief period of the republican government called the Commonwealth. *1738 - A treaty between Pennsylvania and Maryland ends the Conojocular War with settlement of a boundary dispute and exchange of prisoners. *1787 - In Philadelphia, delegates convene a Constitutional Convention to write a new Constitution for the United States. George Washington presides. *1810 - In the May Revolution, citizens of Buenos Aires expel the Viceroy during the Semana de Mayo. *1865 - In Mobile, 300 are killed when an ordnance depot explodes. *1895 - Playwright, poet and novelist Oscar Wilde is convicted of "committing acts of gross indecency with other male persons" and sentenced to serve two years in prison. * 1895 - The Republic of Formosa is formed, with Tang Ching-sung as the president. *1901 - River Plate was founded to become one of the most successful teams in Argentina. *1914 - The United Kingdom's House of Commons passes Home Rule Act for devolution in Ireland. *1925 - Scopes Trial: John T. Scopes is indicted for teaching Darwin's theory of evolution. *1926 - Sholom Schwartzbard assassinates Symon Petliura, the head of the Paris-based government-in-exile of Ukrainian People's Republic. *1935 - Babe Ruth hits his 714th and last home run at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, setting a baseball record that will stand for 39 years. * 1935 - Jesse Owens of Ohio State University breaks five world records and ties a sixth at the Big Ten Conference Track and Field Championships in Ann Arbor. *1936 - The Remington Rand strike, led by the American Federation of Labor, begins. *1938 - Spanish Civil War: Bombing of Alicante, 313 deaths. *1940 - World War II: The Battle of Dunkirk begins. *1946 - The parliament of Transjordan makes Abdullah I of Jordan their king. *1953 - Nuclear testing: At the Nevada Test Site, the United States conducts its first and only nuclear artillery test. *1955 - In the United States, a night time F5 tornado strikes the small city of Udall, killing 80 and injuring 273. It was the deadliest tornado to ever occur in the state and the 23rd deadliest in the U.S. *1961 - Apollo program: U.S. president John F. Kennedy announces before a special joint session of Congress his goal to initiate a project to put a "man on the moon" before the end of the decade. * 1961 - King Hussein of Jordan marries Princess Muna al-Hussein (Antoinette Gardiner). *1963 - In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the Organisation of African Unity is established. *1966 - Explorer program: Explorer 32 launches. * 1966 - The first prominent DaZiBao during the Cultural Revolution in China was posted at Peking University. *1967 - Celtic F.C. become the first British and non-Latin side to win the European Champions' Cup in the Lisbon Lions 2-1 victory over Inter Milan in Lisbon, Portugal. *1979 - American Airlines Flight 191: In Chicago, a DC-10 crashes during takeoff at O'Hare International Airport killing 271 on board and two people on the ground. *1981 - In Riyadh, the Gulf Cooperation Council is created between Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. *1982 - [[Wikipedia:HMS Coventry (D118)|HMS Coventry]] is sunk during the Falklands War. *1985 - Bangladesh is hit by a tropical cyclone and storm surge, which kills approximately 10,000 people. *1986 - Hands Across America, a benefit event, takes place. *1995 - The Bosnian Serb Army kills 72 youngsters in the Bosnian city of Tuzla. *1997 - A military coup in Sierra Leone replaces President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah with Major Johnny Paul Koromah. *1999 - The United States House of Representatives released the Cox Report which detailed the People's Republic of China's nuclear espionage against the U.S. over the prior two decades. *2000 - Liberation Day of Lebanon. Israel withdraws its army from most of the Lebanese territory after 22 years of its first invasion in 1978. *2001 - 32-year-old Erik Weihenmayer, of Boulder, becomes the first blind person to reach the summit of Mount Everest. *2002 - China Airlines Flight 611: A Boeing 747-200 breaks apart in mid-air and plunges into the Taiwan Strait killing 225 people. * 2002 - A train crash in Tenga, Mozambique kills 197 people. *2003 - Néstor Kirchner becomes President of Argentina after defeating Carlos Menem. He is the first elected President since the economic crisis. *2005 - Liverpool football club win theUefa Champions League for the 5th time. The most times for a British club. *2007 - The Ostankino Tower in Moscow catches fire for the second time. Births *1048 - Emperor Shenzong of China (d. 1085) *1334 - Emperor Sukō (d. 1398) *1458 - Mahmud Begada, Sultan of Gujarat (d. 1511) *1606 - Charles Garnier, French Jesuit missionary (d. 1649) *1661 - Claude Buffier, French philosopher and historian (d. 1737) *1713 - John Stuart, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1792) *1725 - Samuel Ward, American politician (d. 1776) *1783 - Philip Pendleton Barbour, Virginia politician and U.S. Supreme Court justice (d. 1841) *1803 - Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, English novelist and playwright (d. 1873) * 1803 - Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist and philosopher (d. 1882) *1818 - Jacob Burckhardt, Swiss historian (d. 1897) *1845 - Lip Pike, baseball player (d. 1883) *1846 - Princess Helena of the United Kingdom, daughter of Queen Victoria (d. 1923) *1852 - William Muldoon, wrestler (d. 1933) *1856 - Louis Franchet d'Espèrey, French general (d. 1942) *1860 - James McKeen Cattell, American psychologist (d. 1944) *1865 - John Mott, American YMCA leader, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1955) * 1865 - Pieter Zeeman, Dutch physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1943) *1877 - Billy Murray, American singer (d. 1954) *1878 - Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, African American entertainer (d. 1949) *1879 - Max Aitken, Canadian-born publisher (d. 1964) *1880 - Jean Alexandre Barré, French neurologist (d. 1967) *1882 - Marie Doro, American actress (d. 1956) *1886 - Philip Murray, U.S. (Scottish-born) labor leader (d. 1952) *1887 - Pio of Pietrelcina, Catholic saint (d. 1968) *1888 - Miles Malleson, English actor (d. 1969) *1889 - Igor Sikorsky, Russian inventor (d. 1972) *1897 - Gene Tunney, American heavyweight champion (d. 1978) *1898 - Bennett Cerf, American publisher, TV personality (d. 1971) *1899 - Kazi Nazrul Islam, Bengali poet, musician, revolutionary and philosopher (d. 1976) *1900 - Alain Grandbois, French Canadian poet (d. 1975) *1903 - Binnie Barnes, British actress (d. 1998) *1907 - U Nu, Burmese politician (d. 1995) *1909 - Alfred Kubel, German politician (d. 1999) *1912 - Princess Dukhye of Korea (d. 1989) *1913 - Richard Dimbleby, British journalist and broadcaster (d. 1965) *1917 - Steve Cochran, American actor (d. 1965) *1918 - Claude Akins, American actor (d. 1994) *1921 - Jack Steinberger, German-born physicist, Nobel Prize laureate * 1921 - Hal David, American lyricist and songwriter *1922 - Enrico Berlinguer, Italian politician (d. 1984) * 1922 - Kitty Kallen, American big band singer *1924 - István Nyers, Hungarian footballer (d. 2005) *1925 - Rosario Castellanos, Mexican poet (d. 1974) * 1925 - Jeanne Crain, American actress (d. 2003) * 1925 - Don Liddle, baseball player (d. 2000) *1927 - Robert Ludlum, American writer (d. 2001) *1929 - Beverly Sills, American soprano (d. 2007) * 1929 - Warren Frost, American actor *1931 - Georgi Grechko, cosmonaut * 1931 - Aili Jõgi, Estonian freedom fighter *1932 - John Gregory Dunne, American writer (d. 2003) *1933 - Ray Spencer, English footballer *1935 - Cookie Gilchrist, American football player * 1935 - Victoria Shaw, Australian-born American actress (d. 1988) *1936 - Tom T. Hall, American singer and songwriter *1938 - Raymond Carver, American writer (d. 1988) *1939 - Dixie Carter, American actress * 1939 - Ian McKellen, English actor *1943 - Jessi Colter, American singer * 1943 - John "Poli" Palmer, British rock musician (Family) *1944 - Frank Oz, English-born puppeteer and director * 1944 - Pierre Bachelet, French singer and songwriter (d. 2005) * 1944 - John Bunnell, former Sheriff of Multnomah County and TV personality *1946 - David A. Hargrave, RPG designer *1948 - Klaus Meine, German musician (Scorpions) *1949 - Jamaica Kincaid, Antiguan-born novelist *1951 - Bob Gale, American screenwriter *1952 - Al Sarrantonio, American writer *1953 - Eve Ensler, American playwright * 1953 - Daniel Passarella, Argentine football player * 1953 - Stan Sakai, Japanese-American cartoonist (Usagi Yojimbo) *1956 - Sugar Minott, Jamaican singer * 1956 - David P. Sartor, American music composer * 1956 - Tatsutoshi Goto, Japanese professional wrestler *1957 - Edward Lee, American writer * 1957 - Robert Picard, French Canadian ice hockey player *1958 - Paul Weller, British musician *1959 - Rick Wamsley, Canadian ice hockey player *1962 - Rick Nattress, Canadian ice hockey player *1963 - Mike Myers, Canadian actor and comedian *1964 - Ivan Bella, Slovak cosmonaut *1966 - Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands *1967 - Poppy Z. Brite, American author *1968 - Kendall Gill, American basketball player *1969 - Anne Heche, American actress * 1969 - Stacy London, American fashion consultant * 1969 - Glen Drover, Canadian guitar player (Megadeth) *1970 - Joey Eischen, baseball player * 1970 - Lindsay and Sidney Greenbush, American actresses * 1970 - Jamie Kennedy, American actor * 1970 - Satsuki Yukino, Seiyuu *1971 - Sonya Smith, American actress * 1971 - Justin Henry, American actor *1972 - Octavia Spencer, American actress *1973 - Demetri Martin, American comedian * 1973 - Molly Sims, American supermodel and actress * 1973 - Daz Dillinger, American hip-hop performer *1974 - Frank Klepacki, American musician *1975 - Lauryn Hill, American singer *1976 - Miguel Tejada, Dominican baseball player * 1976 - Cillian Murphy, Irish actor *1978 - Brian Urlacher, American football player *1979 - Carlos Bocanegra, American soccer player * 1979 - Jonny Wilkinson, English international and Newcastle Falcons rugby player * 1979 - Caroline Ouellette, French Canadian ice hockey player * 1979 - Sam Sodje, Nigerian footballer *1980 - Jae Hee, South Korean actor * 1980 - David Navarro, Spanish footballer *1982 - Adam Boyd, English footballer * 1982 - Daniel Braaten, Norwegian footballer * 1982 - Ryan Gallant, American skateboarder *1983 - Kunal Khemu, Indian actor *1984 - Unnur Birna Vilhjálmsdóttir, 2005 Miss World * 1984 - Kyle Brodziak, Canadian ice hockey player *1984 - Shawne Merriman, American football Player for the San Diego Chargers *1985 - Luciana Abreu, Portuguese singer and actress *1986 - Yoan Gouffran, French football player *1986 - Juri Ueno, Japanese actress *1987 - Timothy Derijck, Belgian football player *1993 - Dilley sextuplets, American sextuplets *1999 - Maisy McLeod-Riera, New Zealand actress Deaths * 709 - Aldhelm * 735 - Bede, English historian and monk * 967 - Murakami, Emperor of Japan (b. 926) * 992 - Mieszko I first lord and knight of Poland, duke of Polans *1085 - Pope Gregory VII *1261 - Pope Alexander IV *1452 - John Stafford, Archbishop of Canterbury *1555 - Gemma Frisius, Dutch mathematician and cartographer (b. 1508) * 1555 - Henry II of Navarre (b. 1503) *1595 - Valens Acidalius, German critic and poet (b. 1567) *1632 - Adam Tanner, Austrian mathematician and philosopher (b. 1572) *1667 - Gustaf Bonde, Swedish statesman (b. 1620) *1681 - Pedro Calderón de la Barca, Spanish playwright (b. 1600) *1693 - Marie-Madeleine Pioche de la Vergne, French writer (b. 1634) *1741 - Daniel Ernst Jablonski, German theologian (b. 1660) *1786 - Peter III of Portugal, consort of Queen Maria I of Portugal (b. 1717) *1789 - Anders Dahl, Swedish botanist (b. 1751) *1797 - John Griffin Whitwell, British field marshal (b. 1719) *1805 - William Paley, English philosopher (b. 1743) *1848 - Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, German writer (b. 1797) *1849 - Benjamin d'Urban, British general and colonial administrator (b. 1777) *1899 - Rosa Bonheur, French realist painter and sculptor (d. 1822) *1912 - Austin Lane Crothers, American politician (b. 1860) *1917 - Maksim Bahdanovič, Belarusian poet (b. 1891) *1919 - Madame C.J. Walker, African American philanthropist and tycoon (b. 1867) *1924 - Lyubov Popova, Russian painter (b. 1889) *1926 - Symon Petlura, Ukrainian politician and statesman (b. 1879) *1927 - Payne Whitney, American businessman (b. 1876) *1930 - Randall Thomas Davidson, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1848) *1934 - Gustav Holst, English composer (b. 1874) *1935 - Sir Frank Watson Dyson, English astronomer (b. 1868) *1940 - Joe De Grasse, American film director (b. 1873) *1943 - Nils von Dardel, Swedish post-impressionist painter (b. 1888) *1951 - Paula von Preradović, Croatian-born writer (b. 1887) *1954 - Robert Capa, Hungarian-born photojournalist (b. 1913) *1965 - Sonny Boy Williamson, (Alec "Rice" Miller) American Blues singer, songwriter, and musician (b. 1899) *1968 - Georg von Küchler, German field marshal (b. 1881) *1977 - Yevgenia Ginzburg, Russian writer (b. 1904) *1979 - John Arthur Spenkelink, American murderer (b. 1949) *1981 - Fredric Warburg, British publisher and author (b. 1898) *1983 - Jean Rougeau, French Canadian professional wrestler (b. 1925) *1983 - Black Jack Stewart,Canadian NHL hockey player *1986 - Chester Bowles, American politician (b. 1901) *1988 - Ernst Ruska, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1906) *1994 - Sonny Sharrock, American jazz guitarist (b. 1940) *1995 - Dany Robin, French actress (b. 1927) *1996 - Renzo De Felice, Italian historian (b. 1929) * 1996 - Bradley Nowell, American singer and guitarist (Sublime) (b. 1968) *2000 - Nicholas Clay, British actor (b. 1946) *2003 - Jeremy Michael Ward, American musician (The Mars Volta) (b. 1976) *2004 - Roger W. Straus, American publisher (b. 1917) *2005 - Sunil Dutt, Indian actor and politician (b. 1929) * 2005 - Robert Jankel, British coachbuilder (b. 1938) * 2005 - Graham Kennedy, Australian television personality (b. 1934) * 2005 - Ruth Laredo, American pianist (b. 1937) * 2005 - Gregory Scott Johnson, American murderer (b. 1965) *2006 - Desmond Dekker, Jamaican ska musician (b. 1941) *2007 - Charles Nelson Reilly, American actor and host (b. 1931) Holidays and observances *Argentina - Day of May Revolution/National Day (1810) *Africa Day commemorating the 1963 fouding of he AU's precursor, OAU *Chad, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe - African Liberation Day *United States - National Tap Dance Day; celebrated on the birthday of Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, born in 1878. *Lebanon, Liberation Day (2000) *The former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia - Day of Youth *Ancient Latvia - Urbanas Diena observed *Towel Day - a tribute day by fans of the late author Douglas Adams writer of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books. (Since 2001) *Nerd Pride Day, proposed and organized since 2006 in Spain. Liturgical Feast days *Saint Urban's Day (Died on May the 23, 230 A.D. Buried on May 25) *Saint Bede the Venerable (died 735) *Saint Augustine of Canterbury *Saint Bruno of Würzburg *Saint Frederic *Saint Pope Gregory VII (died 1085) *Saint Hildebert *Saint Reinolf *Saint Marie-Madeleine-Sofie Barat (died 1865) *Commemoration of the Venerable Bede (Anglican) External links * BBC: On This Day * * On This Day in Canada ---- Category:May